JL: Ultimate Hero
by sandman7734
Summary: Alright ladies and gents, you asked for it, and here it is. The new "Justice League: Ultimate Hero", back and better than ever. Read and review!
1. Out of the Frying Pan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Justice League or Ben 10. Which is why I like setting farm animals on fire.**

**Yep, I'm back, baby. The revision of 'JL:UH' has arrived. So basically, the big changes are that Ben has the Omnitrix instead of the Ultimatrix and he is being dropped into the Thanagarian invasion from the JL season finale. Got it? Good, let's do this.**

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**Chapter 1: Out of the Frying Pan...**

This wasn't what he wanted. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He had been a hero, a savior, a legend. The universe would have been controlled or destroyed dozens of times over if not for his interference.

And what had that gotten him?

They were dead. All of them, dead. Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Aunt Lily, Uncle Frank, Kevin, Gwen, Julie...

"Why me?" the eighteen-year-old Benjamin Tennyson asked, the tears streaming down his face. It was around midnight in Bellwood, and the smoke was still visible on the horizon. Ben was seated on the ledge of a twenty-story building, his legs dangling off the side. While his clothes were unscathed, his body was covered in bruises and cuts. Reminders of the battle that he had just survived. And what he hoped would be his last battle ever...

Ben wiped his tears on the sleeve of his emerald jacket. Unfortunately, he used his left arm to do it, and he froze upon seeing the cursed device on his forearm.

The Omnitrix glowed green in the dark, almost as if trying to reason with Ben. But it wasn't going to happen. He had made up his mind on what he wanted to do.

Eight years ago, he had been given the Omnitrix, and he had loved it. He had become a hero, saving the world and even saving the galaxy. He had fought villains both alien and human. Animo, Hex, Sixsix... And, of course, Vilgax.

But after that summer, Ben wanted a normal life, and he had the alien watch removed from his wrist. And slowly, bit by bit, his life became normal once more. He began playing soccer, he survived middle school, and he began to mature both physically and mentally, even managing to finally get over his childish rivalry with Gwen and develop a close relationship with her.

Five years later, however, Ben took on the role of hero once more, putting the Omnitrix back on to investigate an alien invasion of Earth. Ben soon became the savior of the universe, stopping the Highbreed from annihilating all life.

A few months after he stopped the Highbreed invasion, Ben's archenemy, Vilgax, returned. The squid-headed alien demanded what he always wanted: the Omnitrix. However, the alien warlord had returned with a few tricks up his sleeve. He had somehow been healed of his former wounds, and gifted not only with increased strength and overall power, but a handful of powerful new weapons, such as the Ruby Ray of Ulo, the Shield of Ziegel, and a large sword strapped to his back that could cut through even Diamondhead's durable crystals.

The fight between the two of them was considered legendary by the Plumbers. The two enemies wound up clashing across miles of terrain before their battle led them to Mount Rushmore, the location of their original battle five years beforehand. In the end, Ben managed to win by the skin of his teeth, though it caused the destruction of Mount Olympus and his secret identity to be revealed to the public, leading to some calling him a hero for saving the world while others called him a terrorist for blowing up a national monument.

Then along came Will Harangue, the annoying television newscaster that hated Ben's guts for some reason. This bastard literally had no other reason to live than to make Ben look like a bigger villain than Vilgax and Hitler combined.

But Ben put up with it. Over the last three years, he managed to gain enough of Azmuth's trust that the diminutive alien genius unlocked the Omnitrix's extended energy function, meaning it would never time out unless Ben wanted it to, or if he was knocked out. He still had to press the Omnitrix on his chest to change alien forms and he was still limited to the aliens he already unlocked instead of the Master Control, but it was something. Add that to the fact that his former enemy Kevin was now his best friend and Julie was his girlfriend through the highs and lows of his superhero career, and he had no complaints.

Life was good. For a short time at least.

And then everything went to hell.

God, why did this have to happen? Ever since he had received the Omnitrix, Ben had used it for good. He had saved the entire universe multiple times. He had given up so much in the pursuit of justice... But now he had paid the ultimate price.

Even if his body still cried in pain from the battle, he didn't care. It was the mental agony that truly broke him, not the physical.

"I can't do this. Not anymore," Ben muttered to himself. What was there to fight for? What was there to _live _for? The young hero let out a tired sigh as he wiped away the last of his tears.

Azmuth could have his godforsaken watch back. He didn't want it anymore.

The last of the Tennyson family stood and looked down at the pavement below. He would be meeting it up close and personal real soon. The hero known as Ben 10 closed his eyes one last time and toppled forward, the air hitting his face as he prepared for oblivion.

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He wasn't really sure what to expect. Maybe a golden city or some kind of other dimension where the dead go to see their loved ones. He had wanted to see Julie and Kevin and Gwen and Grandpa Max again. To spend eternity with them without the need for heroes and villains, aliens or Omnitrixes.

What he hadn't been expecting was a warm sensation against his face.

Ben Tennyson cracked his eyes open, and felt his heart begin to race immediately as he lifted himself up with his arms to examine his surroundings.

He was lying on concrete in an empty alley between two medium-sized buildings, with the sun shining brightly in the middle of the sky. That could only mean one thing.

He was still alive.

The broken hero sat up slowly until he sat on his knees, hands hanging at his sides, still stunned by the failure of his suicide attempt. That shock quickly turned to horror, and then anger as he lifted his fists and slammed them onto the concrete, not even wincing as pain shot up his arms.

"DAMMIT!" Ben roared as he felt tears of fury well up in his eyes. The heartbroken Tennyson continued to scream a chain of swear words at the top of his lungs as he kept pounding his fists into the ground. He wasn't sure how long his mini-tantrum went on, but by the end of it, his knuckles were nearly stripped of skin, blood running down his fingers and onto the backs of his hands.

Ben then jumped as he heard a voice behind him. "You there!"

The eighteen-year-old turned his head, still sitting on his knees, expecting to see police officers standing there wondering what all the yelling was about. His eyes widened considerably when he saw that these were definitely _not_ police officers.

For one thing, police officers didn't wear strange armor that showed off their muscular physique, nor did they carry around strange high-tech axes. And they most assuredly did not have a pair of angel-like wings growing out of their backs.

_Is this some kind of broken version of heaven; a place where the angels carry armor and weapons? _Ben thought as the two bird-men approached. _No, this is still the real world. But is it Earth?_

"Identification, human," one of the two men barked, stepping forward and holding out an awaiting hand while the other gripped his ax. Ben noted that the fingers on his gauntlets looked a lot like talons on a bird of prey.

Ben was still too stunned to respond, or acknowledge the bird-man's order. They referred to him as human, so he obviously wasn't on an alien world. And why would he need ID? Of course, Ben had little time to keep pondering his situation. After a few seconds, the first bird-man turned toward his partner and nodded in Ben's direction. They were going to run him in. Or worse.

As they walked closer to the young Tennyson, the former hero managed to regain his wits and start backing away, instinctively lifting up his left arm, the Omnitrix glowing slightly. The alien watch then beeped as a voice emanated from it.

"UNCATALOGUED DNA DETECTED. SCANNING."

A green beam of light landed on one of the bird-men, traveling up and down his body as it analyzed his body and DNA. The other bird-man stood frozen in place, surprised at the sudden events.

After a couple of seconds, the Omnitrix ceased its scanning, uttering a final "DNA ACQUIRED".

Then the bird-men snapped out of their stupor and advanced, weapons at the ready. "Whatever you just did, you're going to regret it, boy."

At that comment, something inside Ben snapped. After all that had happened to him in the last twenty-four hours, the loss of his family, the attempted suicide, waking up to find a bunch of strange bird-like men on Earth, with no fear of being discovered by other humans...

Ben looked down at the Omnitrix, a feeling of disgust welling up inside him at the sight of the device. After all that it had cost him, he never planned to use it again. But sometimes, things just don't go the way you plan.

Without saying a word, Ben lifted his left arm, activated the Omnitrix, and slammed down on the dial.

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Twenty minutes later, Ben was sitting on top of a tall skyscraper, scoping out the city to see where he was and what he was dealing with.

He was still on Earth, that much was certain. There were humans still walking around, and English was still the language written on buildings and billboards all around the area. But it looked like it was being invaded. Flying tank-like ships scouted around the city, making sure the people were subdued and peaceful.

It was martial law. There was no other way to describe it.

But how did this happen? How did he go from attempting suicide to the middle of an invasion of human-like aliens with bird wings?

Ben's mind had immediately locked onto one individual: Paradox.

The mysterious time-traveling scientist had pulled stunts like this before, and it was totally plausible that the time-walker had frozen time and dropped Ben off in this city in the past or future, during an alien invasion not unlike the Highbreed attack three years ago.

Except, all the technology looked pretty modern. So unless the invasion was meant for the next five years or so, things didn't quite add up. Of course, Ben had started this train of thought earlier, when he had beaten the two bird-men. When he had turned to leave the alley, he found a newspaper lying there that finally told him all he needed to know.

The headline: "THANAGARIAN FORCES CAPTURE JUSTICE LEAGUE".

The year: 2012.

The city: Metropolis.

While the year was correct, there was no Metropolis back on Earth, and Ben had never heard of any "Justice League" before (which sounded really corny, though it was a much more heroic-sounding name than "the Plumbers").

So this wasn't in the past or future, the papers didn't mention his name (which the whole world knew due to his identity being blown), and he was standing in a city that shouldn't even exist.

Ben's next theory, while certainly unusual, wasn't impossible, considering all the other things he had experienced throughout his superhero career: a parallel, alternate Earth. One where Ben Tennyson wasn't the world's biggest hero, but the Justice League was. And it looked like the world's major heroes had been beaten by the alien forces, which Ben presumed were the Thanagarians the paper mentioned.

And now, with all this knowledge, Ben stood on the skyscraper, resisting the urge to scream in frustration. The temptation to leap off of the building was strong. How Ben desperately wished he could end it and see his family again. But he knew they would disapprove heavily if he were to do something as selfish as commit suicide while Earth was defenseless against an alien invasion, be it his own or a parallel one.

With an irritated sigh, Ben glanced down once more at the Omnitrix. Almost as if something was urging him as he lifted his left wrist up to chest height. "Alright, show me where to go," he said in defeat.

As if it somehow possessed its own intelligence that knew exactly what to do, the alien watch suddenly lit up and created a hologram in front of his face. It was the standard circular map Ben used to determine the locations of Plumber badges, detailing distance and height of the location. This one showed a beeping green dot a few hundred meters off the ground, heading in the direction of the city.

"Guess that's where I'm going first," the young Tennyson muttered as the map disappeared, allowing Ben to activate the Omnitrix, twist the dial, and choose the alien he wanted.

He was almost burning with anger at this point. Why not let these damn invaders burn a little too?

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On board a Thanagarian prison ship, six unique individuals were each being held in cells designed specifically for each one of them. These six were the remaining members of the Justice League, and they all felt a deep, seething fury at the sole member of their team that wasn't their with them.

Shayera Hol, aka Hawkgirl, had betrayed them and their secrets to the Thanagarians and allowed this invasion to occur. And now they were lowly prisoners to be locked away until the alien bird-people finished up their business on Earth, whatever it was.

Superman, the indestructible Man of Steel, was locked in a cell that inflicted him with the light of a red sun, which drained his powers and made him no stronger than any regular man.

Flash, the fastest man alive, was being held under an intense gravity field that made it impossible for him to even stand up, let alone move fast enough to escape.

Wonder Woman, the powerhouse amazon princess, had her own unbreakable lasso used against her, tying her to a pillar from which she could not break free.

Martian Manhunter, the last surviving martian, was being held to the floor by four energy cuffs, one for each of his limbs, which prevented him from shape-shifting, becoming intangible, or using his telepathy.

Batman, the Dark Knight detective, was being held cuffed in a cell like a simple criminal, due to his lack of superpowers.

Green Lantern, one of many in the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps., was in a similar situation as Batman. Devoid of his Green Lantern ring, he was practically powerless, without the martial art prowess that his dark brooding teammate possessed.

Never before had they felt so powerless. And never before had their hope for victory been so low.

"Hera help us," Wonder Woman muttered to herself, lowering her head in a mixture of shame and defeat. Never had she been so swiftly beaten, nor betrayed by so close a friend. Her strength would not help her in this situation. So praying for help at this point surely couldn't make things worse.

And suddenly, as if on cue, the ship's alarms started going off.

_KRANG KRANG KRANG KRANG_

The amazon warrior's head shot up in surprise. She heard numerous voices of Thanagarian soldiers yelling back and forth over the alarms, and she thought she heard the word "fire" repeated a few times.

Batman, who wasn't being held in place by the cuffs on his arm, walked over to the energy field covering his cell and attempted to see what was happening, Green Lantern following his example a moment later.

"Think that's a good or bad alarm?" GL asked the detective.

"At this point, any alarm for them is good for us," Batman responded.

"Not if the ship's going down."

"Does it _feel_ like the ship's going down?"

"Good point."

The back and forth between the two was interrupted by a loud explosion, followed by the sight of the door to the prison corridor flying by at a high speed, trailing smoke and flames as it smashed into the wall at the other side of the hallway.

Superman, being at the foremost part of the hallway, and having witnessed the door flying by, felt his eyes widen as a figure stepped in front of his cell and locked eyes with him.

It appeared to be a man, but one made out of brown and red rocks, with lava flowing through the strange cracks between the rocks and a head that appeared to be on fire. On his chest was a strange, circular symbol shaped like a green hourglass.

The magma-man walked toward the cell until he was a few inches away from the energy field. "You guys the Justice League?" the being asked.

Superman, still feeling weak from the red sunlight and his restraining cuffs, simply nodded.

The fire creature turned his head to look at the control panel on the wall next to the energy shielding. Lifting his right hand, the creature summoned a sphere of fire and fired it at the panel. The device exploded, sending out sparks and smoke as its fried systems caused both the shielding and red sun light to deactivate.

Superman blinked in surprise as the magma creature approached and knelt down to his own level (as the Man of Steel was forced to his knees) before grabbing the cuffs restraining his hands. The Kryptonian hero winced at the amount of heat emanating from the strange being.

"Name's Heatblast. Now hold still," the creature said as Superman felt the heat from his lava-like body intensify. The cuffs around Superman's hands began to warp as the heat melted the metal. After a few seconds, the restraints cracked open and fell from the Man of Steel's arms.

As he prepared to thank the fire-man known as Heatblast, a voice spoke up from the symbol on his chest, the green hourglass flashing as it said "UNCATALOGUED DNA DETECTED. SCANNING."

A green light appeared from the symbol and starting going up and down Superman's body. While the Man of Steel stared in surprise, the fire hero sighed in annoyance. "That's the second time today," he mumbled, annoyed.

As the beam finished its scanning of the Kryptonian's DNA, a trio of Thanagarian guards appeared at the front of the cell, weapons drawn and ready.

"Freeze!" one of them yelled.

Heatblast's "eyes", the holes on his skull-like head, narrowed as he stood back up, not turning around to face his enemies.

"Burn!" he shot back as he whirled around and extended both arms, a massive whirlwind of flames blasting out of his hands and hitting the three guards with enough power to knock them into the active energy shield at the opposite end of the hallway from Superman's cell. The trio cried in pain as the field began to electrocute them, knocking them unconscious onto the ground.

Superman, having recovered enough to finally stand up and walk, stood next to Heatblast and glanced over at the three fried Thanagarians.

"Let's move, big guy. We don't have long before they send more," the walking inferno said as he walked out of the cell.

The Man of Steel nodded as he picked up one of the hawkmen's energy axes. His strength, flight, and durability would take a short time to return after that long stay under a simulated red sun. Since he was now no stronger than any other human, he would have to take every advantage he could get. Including the enemy's weapons.

Heatblast walked over to the next cell and felt his eyes widen as he laid his eyes upon one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She had long, flowing black hair, crystal blue eyes, and a face and body to die for.

Of course, the image was ruined by the fact that she was tied to a metal pillar. While he was a young man in his sexual prime, he wasn't into bondage, or any of the other freaky things one would no doubt be able to find on the Internet. Heatblast calmly fried the control panel maintaining the energy field and walked into the cell, the beautiful woman's eyes following him with a combination of awe and trepidation. The Pyronite raised an eyebrow as he saw the pillar, which appeared to be coming out of the floor of the cell, was still standing. Glancing around, he saw yet another panel on the right side of the cell. Giving a brief sigh of annoyance, he walked over and slammed his fiery fist into the secondary panel.

The pillar rescinded into the floor, loosening the golden rope from the woman's body and allowing her to stand up, grabbing the rope and rolling it up before fastening it to the waist of her _very_ revealing outfit.

The Pyronite's thoughts then went to Julie, and he felt his face fall a bit.

_Don't worry Julie. As soon as I'm done here, I'll see you guys again_, he thought to himself as the woman approached him.

"Ladies first," he offered as he gestured toward the opening of the cell.

The woman smiled slightly as she walked out, Heatblast following her. In the hallway, things were starting to escalate.

Superman had managed to free Batman, and the two of them had successfully released the rest of the League. And now they were locked in battle with a group of Thanagarians. Heatblast raised an eyebrow as he noticed the bright costumes they were all wearing.

_If these guys are anything like the Galactic Enforcers, the Earth is screwed_, he thought sardonically as he summoned streams of fire from his feet and launched into the air, having long ago mastered the ability to fly with Heatblast and apply that ability in battle.

On the ground, the powerless heroes had each grabbed enemy weapons in an attempt to level the playing field. While Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter were each using weapons ranging from hammers to axes to some nunchuk-like devices. Flash, Diana, and Heatblast were busy using their powers, with the latter two fighting Thanagarian soldiers in the air.

Heatblast threw a fist at one bird-man while blasting a fireball at another simultaneously. Behind him, Diana was using her lasso to smash another Thanagarian into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

Looking around, the Pyronite saw that only two of the Justice League had apparent powers. With a large group of hawk-men like this, they wouldn't last long. It was tactical suicide.

The transformed Tennyson blasted towards the floor of the ship, landing in the middle of a group of Thanagarians. Without missing a beat, the burning superhero slammed his fist into the ground and released a ring of fire that spread in all directions, knocking all of the surrounding hawkmen away and rendering them all unconscious.

"Hope you like your faces extra crispy," the hero quipped as he glanced upward, catching sight of a more... _rotund _hawk-man than the rest, carrying a rather large cannon on his shoulder.

Thinking quickly, Heatblast lifted his left hand and slammed it into the symbol on his chest, causing a green light to erupt up and down the hallway. In that one singular moment, all battles ceased as every eye in the room watched the emerald light die down to reveal a form very different from the walking inferno that had just seen.

"**CHROMASTONE!**" the new being yelled. This creature, while still rock-like in appearance and still possessing the symbol on the chest, had purple crystal-like hands, along with similar-colored protrusions coming from its upper chest and shoulder area, and one single amethyst horn on its head, right above its singular eye.

The hawk-man with the cannon was the first to react, aiming with his cannon right at the being's chest.

"Hit me with your best shot, fat boy," Chromastone growled as he stood in a defensive stance.

Responding enthusiastically, the hawk-man fired the cannon at full-power, the energy blast sure to hit and destroy this meddlesome alien.

However, upon contact with the alien's body, the blast seemed to disappear, and, somehow, become absorbed into the being's body.

"My turn," the cycloptic alien growled as it narrowed its eye. Gathering a good chunk of his own energy, Chromastone lifted his hands upward and fired a rainbow-colored blast of power into the roof of the ship, blasting through its levels and reaching the outer hull.

Instantly, the hallway became depressurized, with numerous hawk-men being unable to prevent themselves from being blasted out into the lower atmosphere. After that, the heroes felt the floor begin to tilt as the ship begin to descend, getting ready for a crash-landing.

"We're losing altitude!" Diana shouted, looking at her male allies. "We need to move, now!"

"Flyers, grab a friend!" Chromastone ordered as he gestured for Green Lantern to grab onto his neck and jump onto his back, which he did. Superman grabbed Batman and Flash while Diana grabbed J'onn.

With that, the seven heroes took to the air, flying through the hull of the ship and into the clear sky, the sun bearing down on them once more. Superman took a deep breath of relief, feeling his former strength returning to him.

"So," a voice piped up, drawing all eyes to the crystal-like creature now carrying Green Lantern on his back, "how about we get the introductions out of the way?"

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**FINALLY! You have no idea how long it took me to get this right! The first draft was barely 2,500 words, and I couldn't have that, no sir. So yeah, first chapter is up. Next one involves sneaking to Wayne Manor, and battling the Thanagarians that arrive there. After that, the finale of Justice League and the intro to JLU. Don't know when that's gonna happen, since I have a bunch of projects to do for school, but I'm working on it. Until then, read, review, all that fun stuff.**

**Also, give opinions on what you want in the story, I'm always open to reader suggestions. Friend of mine wants to put Power Girl in the story (NOT Galatea), so let me know what you think of that.**

**Finally, a shoutout to my fellow Ben 10 crossover writers, Codecrash and Bigby the Big Bad Wolf: I'm coming for you guys. If you don't update soon, I will be very upset. And when I get upset, BAD THINGS HAPPEN!**


	2. Into the Fire

**Now we go to Ollie Williams for the disclaimer. Ollie?**

**"HE OWNS NOTHING!"**

**Thanks Ollie.**

**I. HAVE. RETURNED!**

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**Chapter 2: Into the Fire**

It had been about three hours since the Justice League escaped the prison ship, and every Thanagarian soldier in Metropolis was now on the lookout for anybody in a brightly colored costume. Naturally, this made movement that much more difficult for the superheroes, who all agreed that the skies would no doubt be under watch by enemy ships, leaving flying out of the equation. So, with few options, the team had been on the move constantly since they had touched down. Fortunately, the team had managed to stick to the shadows, as the sun had now set and the night provided perfect cover.

Of course, the only one skilled in stealth was Batman, the others used to a more blunt approach. Which is why the newest member of the group, the strange shapeshifting creature, offered to distract the Thanagarians, reasoning that since he wasn't truly a part of the Justice League, the hawk-like aliens would just mistake him for another superhuman trying to protect his planet (as the Justice League didn't hold the monopoly on superhumans, they were just the most famous group of them). The team agreed, and the purple crystal being they had previously talked to transformed into a blue moth-like creature that proceeded to spread its wings and fly away to cause trouble for the bird-men.

Now, the plan seemed to be working, as the path was clear for the League for a few blocks, allowing them to sneak alley to alley until they reached the back door to one building in particular. Without further ado, Diana swiftly kicked the door open, allowing her teammates entrance before she covered the door with a nearby dumpster.

"That X-Ray vision working yet?" Lantern asked Superman. The Kryptonian squinted his eyes as he looked up before swiveling his head from side to side, a small smile growing on his face.

"Just enough to see every Thanagarian in a two block radius frozen completely solid."

"Looks like our new guy's holding his own out there," Flash piped up.

"Was there ever any doubt?" a chilling voice said above them. Six heads darted upward to see the floating moth-like creature floating in the air, arms crossed over his chest and wings spread wide.

"A little, actually," Green Lantern admitted.

"Well, now you know better," the moth-man commented as he landed, folding his wings down until they became what appeared to be a cloak surrounding his body. "So what's the plan here?"

"The whole city will be covered by now," J'onn noted.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll all go home," Flash quipped. All eyes turned toward him.

"Trust me, we're never that lucky," Big Chill grumbled.

"A little optimism can't hurt at a time like this!"

Before the Omnitrix creature could reply, an amplified voice filled the air.

"_THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE THANAGARIAN OCCUPATIONAL AUTHORITY. THE JUSTICE LEAGUE ARE ESCAPED PRISONERS AND VIOLATERS OF OUR MARTIAL LAW. THEY ARE TO BE CONSIDERED AN ENEMY, AND DEALT WITH ON SIGHT. ANY PERSON OR PERSONS FOUND AIDING OR HARBORING THEM... WILL BE SUMMARILY **PUNISHED**."_

The mothman glanced at Flash. "Optimism, huh?"

The fastest man alive drooped his shoulders in defeat. "Yeah, something like that."

Batman's deep voice drew everyone's attention immediately as he spoke. "We're going to have to go underground for the time being. Keep low and rethink our plan of attack."

"How exactly do we hide when the whole city is looking for us?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Not to mention the fact that your costumes are about as stealthy as a Shag Carpeting concert," Big Chill noted. The League members all stared at him, confused looks on their faces.

"Seriously? No Shag Carpeting on this planet?" The transformed teen facepalmed. "Great. Just great."

"He is right," J'onn said, drawing attention away from the League's new ally as he felt the sleeve of a nearby coat. "They're looking for our costumes. But without them, we are ordinary citizens."

As he spoke, the martian shapeshifted into a human man with brown hair and wearing a trenchcoat.

"Whoa, wait a second!" Flash exclaimed. "What about the whole secret identity thing? I trust you guys, but what about _him_?"

The speedster jerked his thumb toward Big Chill, who cocked his head in a questioning way and narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"True. You _definitely _can't trust the guy who pulled your sorry butts out of a prison ship. That would be _stupid_," the alien snarled, his patience already at its limit considering that he would rather be dead than dealing with a group of incompetent brightly-costumed heroes and saving an Earth he was completely unfamiliar with.

"Whoa, little hostility there!" Flash reacted, lifting his hands in a passive motion and taking a step back.

"Look, I didn't _ask_ to be here," Big Chill said in a cold voice. "I didn't _ask_ to play the damn hero again, _especially_ after the _hell_ that I went through. I'll help you take your world back, since saving Earth is already a damn _hobby_ of mine. But after that..."

The mothman trailed off, letting the others decipher his intentions with their own imaginations. "And as for this secret identity dilemma..."

With that, Big Chill lifted his hand to the symbol on his chest and tapped it. In a flash of green light, the mothman was replaced by a young human man wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a green jacket.

"I'm Ben Tennyson," the kid said, a notable lack of emotion in his voice.

The others were stunned.

"A _kid_?" Lantern asked in complete disbelief. "You're telling me a _kid_ had to rescue us from the Thanagarians? We must be doing worse than I thought!"

"I'm eighteen, tough guy. And I've been saving the world since I was ten."

More stunned silence ensued.

"Since you were ten?" Superman questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Ben nodded and held up his left wrist. "This device, the Omnitrix, was ejected from a ship in orbit to keep it safe from an intergalactic warlord. It landed in front of me, and I used it over my entire summer vacation to be a superhero. That's the long and short of it."

"And you've had this device for eight years?" Diana asked.

Ben frowned. "Look, how about we go over my history _after_ we sneak out of the city that is currently occupied by bird-man aliens."

Batman nodded in agreement before stepping forward and removing his cowl, revealing black hair and piercing eyes. Ben paused, recognizing the look in those eyes. They reflected the pain that he himself now felt. The pain of losing your whole life in an instant.

Maybe they shared something in common after all.

"Bruce Wayne. Flash is Wally West. Superman is Clark Kent. Green Lantern is John Stewart. And you know Diana and J'onn," the billionaire explained.

Ben glanced over at Flash and smirked. "Wally? Really?"

Flash sighed. "Shut up."

XXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes later, every member of the Justice League was dressed up as a normal civilian, with Superman wearing a blue business suit and glasses, Diana wearing a long sleeve blue shirt and jeans while tying up her hair in a long ponytail, Green Lantern with a skull cap, brown hoodie and brown pants, Batman wearing a leather jacket along with grey pants and a turtleneck, and Flash going with dark jeans and a brown jacket. Ben stuck with his normal attire.

They were now standing outside in the alley that they had come through previously, Bruce poking his head out to see if the coast is clear.

"We need to split up. They expect seven of us," John strategized. "Who takes the kid?"

Ben gave the powerless Green Lantern a death-glare as Bruce spoke up. "We're about thirty miles from Gotham City. We can regroup at my house there. Try not to draw attention to yourselves."

The dark knight detective scanned over the group. "I'll take Diana and Ben. We can pose as a family out on the town."

Bruce then began to walk away, wielder of the Omnitrix and Amazonian princess following his lead. However, the billionaire felt a sudden chill as Ben walked alongside him, an empty gaze facing forward as the teen spoke in a cool voice. "I'll pretend we're a family if I have to. But I am _not_ calling you 'dad'."

The Gothamite glanced over at Diana with a raised eyebrow. The Amazon just shook her head. She wasn't a telepath like J'onn, but she was able to sense emotions at a basic level, one of her many gifts from the Olympian gods. And what she felt from this boy was a combination of unrestrained rage and endless torment. He had endured something horrible recently.

And he was fully prepared to turn that pain and fury on the Thanagarians.

XXXXXXXXXX

Onboard the Thanagarian mothership, Shayera Hol, formerly a member of the Justice League under the alias of Hawkgirl, was at a loss for words from what she was seeing on the vid screen.

When Hro Talak, Commander of the Thanagarian forces and her soon-to-be husband, had discovered that the League had broken free from their prison ship and caused it to crash in Metropolis, he had been furious. In a rage, he demanded that recovery teams check the security feeds on the ship to find out how they had managed to escape. That was a few hours ago, and Talak had calmed down enough to think out the situation. While a formidable team, the Justice League could not hope to defeat the might of the entire Thanagarian invasion force. They were outgunned, and the Thanagarians knew all their weaknesses, thanks to Shayera's information.

Of course, this was before Talak received the images that were now posted on his screen. Images of a mysterious creature that seemed to be made of fire and rock. A creature that managed to break the Justice League out of confinement and fight off a legion of Thanagarian soldiers before transforming into some silicon-like being that fired energy blasts and took down an entire prison ship.

Shayera had no idea what this being was, or if it was even from this planet, but she knew that it would make the occupation of Earth a little more difficult. The creature was a wildcard; if it was able to transform between those two different forms, what else could it become? How dangerous was it?

At the moment, Talak was speaking over a vid-screen with Paran Dul, a female Thanagarian who was in charge of the construction of the shield generator, the one necessary to protect Earth from Gordanian invasion.

"Be aware that the Justice League has escaped, due to the interference of a strange, shapeshifting being," Talak warned. "Stand ready for an attack."

"Any attack on this base would be suicide," Dul boasted, completely unconcerned about a possible strike on the Thanagarian forces.

"Keep me informed of your progress. Let _nothing_ delay you," the Thanagarian commander ordered.

"By your command." The video screen then went blank. However, Shayera was more concerned with a topic mentioned earlier on in the conversation between Talak and Paran.

"Humans as slave labor?" she questioned, having overheard Paran mention using humans to 'lift and carry as well as any animal'. The former Justice League member was concerned.

"Unfortunate, but necessary." Shayera took note of how little remorse her betrothed showed as he said this before he continued, walking over to a nearby console to check up on a few details. "We are on a most unforgiving schedule. We must move as quickly as possible if we want to finish the hyperspace bypass in time."

Shayera's eyes widened. Hyperspace bypass? This wasn't what he told the human race!

"Bypass?" she asked, quickly walking over to look Talak in the eye. "I thought we were creating a force field for Earth!"

"That was simply our cover story."

Shayera paused as dozens of thoughts raced through her head. But the first and foremost was...

"When were you going to tell me this?" she nearly growled. "Did you not think you could trust me?"

A long silence ensued, as both Thanagarian warriors gazed into each other's eyes, neither one willing to back down. In all their time together, Shayera had never felt this angry at Talak, nor this betrayed. What was wrong with him?

"Follow me," he said quietly, snapping Shayera out of her thoughts. The Thanagarian leader began to walk away, and Shayera began to do as he said.

After about five minutes of walking and an elevator ride later, the two entered the war room of the ship, were Talak brought her over to a large screen used for battle strategy and tactics.

"As you are well aware, the Gordanian homeworld has been protected for decades by an impenetrable defensive line," Talak explained, drawing up an image of the Gordanian home system, with their planet being shown as surrounded by legions of ships and space stations that make a frontal assault a fruitless endeavor.

"But this chain of hyperspace bypasses will allow the full force of out armada to go around their defenses by jumping behind them, which will let us wage a direct assault on the heart of their empire."

Shayera saw what he meant, and it was strategically brilliant to be sure. But there was something else going on here. Something very bad...

"Earth is the last link in the chain. Once we finish it, we can finally attack and annihilate the threat of the Gordanians forever."

The former Hawkgirl was beginning to hear a hint of what sounded like victory in Talak's voice. But that wasn't what was bothering her the most.

"But ripping a hole in hyperspace will destroy this entire planet, and everyone on it!" she protested.

"Unfortunately, yes," Talak said quietly, his voice becoming heavy, revealing how long and how hard he had been fighting this war, and what it will cost him. Thanagarians normally didn't believe in souls, but Talak still felt that he would face eventual retribution for his actions.

"For Thanagar to live, Earth must die."

XXXXXXXXXX

"_We are here to serve the people of Earth. We serve the people by making sure you do what is in your best interest. What is in your best interest is to do what we say. Only by obeying us, can we serve you._"

"What a load of bull," Ben Tennyson muttered as he walked by the TV displays, which were blurting out stupid Thangarian propaganda meant to pacify the people. Needless to say, it wasn't going do its job too well.

Thanagarians were patrolling nearby, and Diana could feel the eighteen-year-old's emotions fluctuate between sorrow and vengeance. His fists were clenched tightly, and the strange device on his left wrist seemed to glow just a tiny bit brighter.

The Amazon princess and Bruce Wayne were keeping a slight distance between themselves and the child, but keeping close enough to show that they were in a group together. While the billionaire playboy was busy analyzing the ramifications this new hero could have on the world at large, Diana was wondering how she could ease the boy's suffering. It was similar to Bruce's inner torment, but fresher, like a wound that hadn't quite healed yet, with less control and more rage than the dark knight had ever displayed.

Diana decided to throw caution to the wind and caught up to the young man until she was walking right beside him.

"What troubles you, Benjamin?" she asked him, attempting to understand why and how someone this young was so filled with hate.

The teen's emerald eyes glanced coldly over at her.

"What _troubles_ me?" he snarled. "How about a whole planet under siege by an alien race that _you_ couldn't prevent?"

Diana felt a surge of anger at the boy's accusation, but managed to restrain her temper, as she knew he was just lashing out in his blind anger.

"Not what I meant. I can sense your fury, and your pain. Something happened to you," she stated matter-of-factly. "Something that would break most people."

Ben's eyes narrowed dangerously as he prepared to speak, though he was cut off by the sound of a man yelling.

Turning, the wielder of the Omnitrix and the Amazon princess both saw a Thanagarian harassing a couple for not showing their identification.

"Let them go," came Bruce's commanding tone behind them, causing the two to jump slightly. "We can't draw attention to ourselves."

The wielder of the Omnitrix paused, his fingers twitching in a subtle movement both the Amazon and the billionaire witnessed. The boy was itching for a fight. And they couldn't afford that.

Diana reached out and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "We'll stop them, Ben."

She said it with such conviction that Ben felt a little guilty about his earlier attitude toward her. But that still didn't change anything. He would save the planet, and then he would end his own life, with or without the aid of the Thanagarians. He _would_ see his family again. And _nothing_ could stop him.

For the moment, Ben simply sighed and relaxed himself, glancing over at the princess. "You're damn right we will."

As the trio walked by, the Hawkmen oblivious to their enemies' proximity, the teen turned to his two comrades. "Now tell me again, how did all this happen?"

XXXXXXXXXX

A few hours later, everyone had arrived in Gotham City and convened at Wayne Manor. Ben had to admit, the place was nice. And it even came with a butler! He had been a hero for eight years. Where was _his_ mansion?

Hell, the place had its own underground base with loads of souvenirs from Batman's previous battles (Ben could relate, having collected many trophies over his fateful summer vacation), a massive computer, and a cool car that Flash called 'the Batmobile'.

While Bruce talked with Diana, Clark, and J'onn, the eighteen-year-old stood a distance away, thinking to himself and going over the facts he had learned from the princess and the dark knight.

Apparently, there had been a seventh member of the Justice League named Hawkgirl, a Thanagarian herself, who had been sent to Earth to scout ahead for her people, something unknown to her fellow League members (she had fed them a story about being transported here by accident). While she fought alongside them for years, she still betrayed them when the Thanagarians arrived, made up a fake story about Gordanian invaders, and proceeded to take over the planet when Batman discovered their ruse. Which was where they had been left off when Heatblast arrived and pulled them out of the fire (ironic).

"Your guests have arrived, sir."

Ben's inner thoughts were interrupted by the announcement, spoken by Alfred, Bruce Wayne's butler and close friend. The teen glanced up the staircase of the Batcave to see Wally West and John Stewart entering behind the old British man. They descended the staircase quickly and approached the group.

"You're late," Bruce stated in a slightly impatient tone.

"Nice to see you, too," Green Lantern retorted.

"Hey, that's a giant dinosaur!"

Wally's outburst drew Ben's attention to the Tyrannosaurus statue that stood nearby, towering over everyone with a fearsome roar on its face. The teen smirked to himself. If only Flash could see Humongousaur...

Who knows? Maybe he'd get the chance.

"And I thought Batman was the detective," came the sarcastic reply of Bruce's faithful butler, Alfred, causing Ben to snicker to himself. Laughter was the best medicine, after all. The Omnitrix wielder walked over to stand with the group, deciding to at least try to be part of the conversation this time.

"We were speculating on why the Thanagarians are really here," J'onn announced.

"Obviously not to protect us," Clark pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

"If I could see their technology, one of my brainy aliens could probably figure it out," Ben suggested. All eyes went to him, many questioning eyebrows being raised. He shrugged. "I have hyper-intelligent transformations, so sue me!"

Diana smirked a little to herself before speaking up. "But if the Gordanians aren't attacking, then what purpose do they have for that force field?"

"It's probably not a force field, then," Ben said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"So what is it, then?" John asked.

"I can tell you," came a female voice from the shadows of the Batcave. All heads turned, only to widen in surprise and rage as a figure emerged from the darkness. While six of the people present recognized her as Shayera, formerly known as Hawkgirl, a certain teenager saw her wings and instantly recognized an enemy that had to be crushed.

"You've got a lot of nerve, showing up here," Superman growled as he removed his glasses.

However, any further conversation was interrupted by a green flash.

"**GRAORAOR!**" came the roar of a large eyeless beast covered in orange fur as it thundered past everyone and lunged toward Shayera, fully intending to rip her limb from limb.

XXXXXXXXXX

**So yeah, what my cousin wrote is true. I have indeed lost the lower half of my left leg, and that knocked me into a state of deep depression and loathing of the world. Yada yada yada...**

**I'm back and writing again, that's the important thing. The support of my fans has been unbelievably helpful, and its gotten me back on my feet (so to speak). I've shed a large number of tears over some of the wishes I've read, so thank you all. I've been in physical therapy and jacked up on pain pills, hence me taking so long to finish this chapter. But hey, I've returned, and I can go as a legit pirate for Halloween next year (it's a peg-leg joke). **

**Also, my opinion of Omniverse? It's a nightmare. Animation is crap, getting rid of Kevin and Gwen to replace them with Rook was stupid, and the plot is nonsensical. Worst of all is what they did with Julie. "Oh gee, I yell at a video game, you think I'm yelling at you, we are now broken up." Who the f&*% is writing this stuff?! I will admit I like some of the aliens and will most likely add them to this story in due time (I'm a serious Gravattack fan, now). And the Princess Looma story/romance is somewhat humorous, and interesting for fanfic ideas (not from me, though). But for the most part, I hate it. I'm not trying to influence anyone, I'm just giving my personal opinion.**

**Also: CodeCrash? Where the hell are you, man?! I'M updating, so should you!**

**Another side note: I'm putting up a poll to see who should be Ben's romance interest. I'll admit, I ripped the idea off from my cousin, so sue me. It probably won't change what I have in mind, but it'll be interesting.**


	3. I'm Back

**Just wanted to let you all know:**

**I'M BACK! AND CHAPTER TWO IS UP! EXPECT CHAPTER THREE SOON!**

**Don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile page!**


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